A new poll of voter intention has president Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney neck-and-neck with just over two weeks to go until election day.

Announced on NBC's Meet the Press, the NBC/Wall Street Journal survey has the two candidates in a dead heat at 47% each.

A breakdown of the figures shows that Obama still has a lead amongst a women, but even that advantage is now down to 51% to 43% – the smallest gap in a year of polling, NBC correspondent Chuck Todd said.

And in a further worrying development for the White House incumbent, Romney had opened up a "little bit of a lead" over his opponent in key battleground states, it was announced on the programme.

The poll, conducted after last week's presidential debate, is in line with other recent polls that suggest that the Republicans have narrowed the gap in recent weeks and that the outcome of the election is still very much in the balance.

Such a tight race is likely to put emphasis on the importance of two set-piece events due to take place in advance of the national ballot on 6 November: Monday's final presidential debate, and monthly jobs figures slated for release just days before America goes to the polls.